Virginia's Song
by VirginiaSnap
Summary: [R&H Oklahoma!] Virginia has always been somewhat of an oddball, but when Laurey tells her the dream she had, Virginia comes to think that more of the dream then she would have liked is going to come true...
1. The Wedding

I **do not** own _Oklahoma!_ ... I apologize if the accents are a bit off, I do have a script from the play, but I wasn't really in the mood to go and try to find every word to see how they say it when I wrote this story.  
I am Currently in _Oklahoma!_ production is March 31st - April 9th. I play Virginia, hence the story  
Much Love, Vas :3

**

* * *

**

**Virginia's Song**

**Chapter 1**

**The Wedding**

Virginia held her body against the great tree that dug its roots deep into the Oklahoma earth. She wound the braided gold chain of the shining watch around her pale, spindly fingers. The brisk night air blew golden strands of tangled hair across her face, hiding her bright blue eyes and unblemished ivory skin. She paused as she pushed a stand of stray hair behind her ear; she let her eyes wander to the dark sky that hung over head. Millions of stars were shining like diamonds on black satin. A smiled traced its way across her face as the sound of chirping crickets met her ears, the strange feeling of a surreal calm excited her.

Virginia. Her name was the most misleading attribute about her, Virginia seemed a name more fitting for a school girl who always did her homework and would never dream of going against the rules. Naturally, Virginia had a very sweet nature and was kindly; this had earned her the reputation as the innocent one, however if someone left their wallet unguarded, they would come back to find it considerably lighter then when they left it. This unladylike feature came from having parents who never cared about her. Her parents did foot the bills for some of her education but most of the time they were never there when she needed them most.

One event that stood fastened in her mind happened one day when she was very young. She had never settled well at school for she was never designated in with the good kids or the troublemakers. One of the boys had made jeers at her family. With a burning rage she let lose a flying punch and hit the boy square in the jaw sending him tumbling backwards. This tipped a chain reaction through the rest of the boy's gang. Virginia ended up running home, crying, with a nosebleed and a black eye. She pushed her way into the house to find nothing but a note saying that her mother and father had gone away and that Eller, their neighbor, was to take care of her. That was how she met and became friends with Laurey.

She looked down at the gold watch entwined around her fingers. She led the heavy gold chain fall free as she grasped the watch itself and looked at the time that was displayed on its face. 8:37pm. She looked up into the sky as the stars twinkled above her. She closed the watch cover and put it into a cut out pocket on her pale blue apron.

"Virginia!" Someone had called her named.

She turned around to see Kate standing in the doorway of the two-story house that was alive with activity for that night was the reception of Laurey and Curley's Wedding. The warm golden light that spilled through the door was a welcome sight from the blackness of the surrounding night. Kate had a short stature compared to Virginia with waves of brown almost black hair that fell just shy of her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes were glowing from the liveliness of the party.

"You all right?" she asked as she tilted her head to one side. Virginia nodded as Kate then broke into a smile.

"Then come inside, your missing all the fun." She said as she stepped from the doorway and let a passage by her big enough for another person to squeeze by her. Virginia blinked and the ghost of a smile crossed her face. Virginia never really smiled unless situation called for it, however on the very night of Laurey's wedding, even with all the activity and bustle, she found no reason to smile, and no reason for happiness. Something at the back of her mind told her that this night of joyous celebration was going to end abruptly and someone was not going to be here to see another night.

"I'm a-comin'" Virginia said as Kate bowed her head and went back inside the house. Virginia looked to the sky and gave one last lingering sign into the night air before she turned heal and slipped inside the house. Immediately the shouts and laughter of many people met her ears. The wedding celebration was well underway and she had been trying to avoid it. Instantly she felt someone hook arms with her. It was Kate; she started to lead Virginia toward the stairway.

"Laurey's jist upstairs getting' ready" Kate explained

Virginia broke away from her and took a couple steps back.

"I'll come up in a little while," The blonde said as she turned away from Kate.

"If'ats whut you wan'" Kate bowed and they scurried back up the stairs.

Virginia watched her go into one of the rooms that had a door open to the hallway, as soon as she enter the door shut. Virginia looked away as something caught her eye as she was trying to find Aunt Eller.

Ike Skidmore, by her reckoning one of the richest people in town. He had an extremely small stature, no more than five feet at the most, but he was the same way wide as he was tall. Thinning wisps of gray hair were combed back as best he could as he wore his signature navy suit with a gold vest and white shirt. A cowboy standing in front of him asked him the time; Mr. Skidmore's gold pocket watch was his signature item.

"Jist a moment" he said as he reached into his vest pocket to find the watch. The smile on his face was suddenly replaced by a look of the up most concern. He turned the right pocket of his vest inside out to expose nothing but air inside it. He then did the left pocket to find nothing inside of it as well. He continued to search every pocket on him, after his investigation his hands came up empty.

"Lose sumpin'?" The Cowboy asked.

"My Watch's gone!" Skidmore shouted.

"Whut's goin' on here?" Aunt Eller came up beside Ike Skidmore as the short man rechecked all his pockets again. Aunt Eller was a short woman with surprisingly full brown hair for her age. She had a dumpy figure but she was a force to be reckoned with if the need called for it.

"My Watch's gone…" Skidmore said again in frustration.

"Well, It couldn' have gotten fur," Eller said as she looked Skidmore in the eye.

Virginia held the gold watch in her hand; she felt the outer covering get clammy from the warmth of her hand. She looked down at its gold face with its intricate lines swirling around its face. The tiny snakes curled around its center. She sighed as she changed direction and wove her way through the crowd to Mr. Skidmore's side. She tapped him on the shoulder. The short man turned around to face the blonde woman who stood next to him.

"Mr. Skidmore," she said timidly as she held out the gold watch to him. As soon as his brown eyes fell across the watch the look on his face lightened as his look of worry faded into relief.

"Thank you, M'dear" he sighed as he took the watch from Virginia's spidery fingers. Virginia smiled, Skidmore looked at her with a questioning look. It was obvious that he was going to ask her where she had found it, but Virginia was way ahead of him with a probably excuse already formulated.

"T'was on the groun'. By the Stairs…" The Blonde woman explained to him.

Mr. Skidmore nodded, he seemed to accept this answer as perfectly possible from the amount of people that were crowded into the two story house, anything could have happened. As soon as the watch rested safely in his hand, he flipped open the face cover and looked at the gleaming face.

"Eight Forty one, Sir." He said to the Cowboy standing in front of him.

The cowboy tipped his hat in thanks and then went back to the celebration that was continuing unaware of the watch incident that had just occurred in their midst. Virginia curtsies to Ike and then disappears into the crowd that floods the house. She turns back to the spindly staircase that led up to the second floor. She smoothed her hand over the banister, before she even puts a foot on the stairs; she lets her eyes go up to the second floor to the Door that was the entrance to Laurey's Room. With a quick flick of her blonde hair and a sigh she started ascending the stairs.

She made sure that she skipped the six steps from the bottom for if anyone stepped on it, it would let out a thunderous creak. The story behind the squeak was an accident by her. One summer, of her sixth year, she stayed over at this house for a week, she and Laurey had been playing tag and she was trying to escape from Laurey. With lightning speed she had come tearing up the stairs and her foot caught on the sixth step wrenching it from where it set. It also caused poor Virginia to tumble down the stairs. It had been Thirteen years since that day and Aunt Eller had yet to fix the stair.

She stepped off the last step and looked down the short overhang as she came to Laurey's door and put her hand on the knob, she hesitated before she went in. Half a dozen girls invaded Laurey's room: Ellen, Kate, Vivian, Aggie, Susan, and Anna. Their chatter stopped suddenly when she came into the room; the only sound was the commotion of the outside party.

"'Lo Virginia" Vivian squeaked. Vivian was by far the youngest girl of Laurey's Posse. She was scrawny in stature with blonde hair and gray eyes. Laurey was seated at her vanity while Aggie brushed out her dark hair. The new Bride turned around in her seat to see Virginia. As soon as she saw her she smiled.

"Hey, Ginny." Laurey said.

Virginia slid by next her two best friends, Susan and Anna as the chatter resumed. Susan and Anna were about the same height as Virginia. Anna possessed almost the same pale color skin as Virginia, but she had deep brown hair that was complimented by green-blue eyes. Susan had a friendly face and affable aura about her; she had tawny color hair and kind brown eyes.

"Whut took you so long?" Anna hissed in Virginia's ear.

Virginia gave he a look as she looked to Susan who had a questioning expression.

"Awe, the night wus beautiful, I couldn' help bu' enjoy it…"

Susan and Anna looked to each other and then shrugged. This seemed like a perfectly respectable answer to them so they thought nothing of it. The chatter in the room went back to its usual din.

"You know what I heard, Virginia…" Ellen turned to look at the blonde haired woman. Ellen was short of stature with mousy hair and dull blue eyes. She earned a reputation as being the town gossip for she always knew about everybody else's business even though it never concerned her.

"I heard that Mike's been lookin' at you. Now tha's a smart match. You cain't argue with that…"

She would have continued babbling on about it despite the snickers and bemused giggles that arose with her first sentence had Laurey not stopped her. She probably saved Virginia from a lot of humiliation and endless rumors.

Virginia sighed. Mike was not much of a looker, but he was a lot smarter than a lot of the cowboys that roamed the town. He was a tall, lanky fellow with deep brown hair and muddy brown eyes. Virginia and Mike did get along well, but she never considered him as a person that she would want to settle down with if it ever came to that. She always had considered the tall cowboy just a friend.

"Naw…" Virginia said in retaliation "He's just my friend."

Ellen nodded and went back to chattering with Aggie and Kate. The three girls twitter was unbearable, they spoke at a level that was low enough so that another person couldn't hear, but they could catch names that were mentioned. It must have taken them an awfully long time to perfect that talent, but after a while Virginia started getting annoyed by it. Susan and Anna were talking behind Virginia about the male element. She tried to make out what Kate, Ellen and Aggie were saying.

"Naw, he wouldn' try nothin' on their Weddin' night…" She caught Aggie say.

"Besides" Kate shrugged "Has anyone even seen him lately?"

Virginia leaned her head to one side. Who were they talking about? She definitely did not have any idea of anyone who was not currently celebrating in the small two-story house.

"Who are we talkin' 'bout?" She asked.

There was an awkward silence between the four before Ellen answered for the other members of the gossip group.

"Jud Fry…" She said with a flick of her mousy hair. "No'uns seen him for a long time. You wouldn' have any idy where he was, would you?"

Virginia felt strangely cornered by that question. It was true she had not seen Jud in almost a week, but she was not a person to go meddling in others affairs without a personal invite. Ellen had asked her that question like she was the only one in the world who knew the correct answer.

"Why d'ya ask?" Virginia questioned.

"Well, I know you two talk sometimes, I just thought you'd know…" Ellen squeaked. The conversation about Jud was dropped. Virginia stepped away from the group and turned back to Susan and Anna who were twittering away.

"Hey Ginny," Susan called "I want to tell you sumpin'"

Virginia vaguely paid attention. She hated it when people called her Ginny. She only put up with it when Susan, Anna or Laurey said it. If anyone else called her that they might receive a bump in the nose depending on the mood she was in when they called her.

"Yesterday, Joe was watchin' me walkin' down the street. I dunno if he was thinkin' personal or not. I hope he was, he so handsome…" a dreamy look came over Susan's eyes as she told her story.

Anna just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It's obvious he likes you, Susan. Why don' you just go and talk to him. I'd think he'd like it."

"Naw!" Susan hissed, "If'n I do, it'd be too obvious and then the rumors will begin…" She started babbling on about why she shouldn't go talk to Joe. Virginia started to Zone out after the fourth or fifth sentence. She let her eyes wander the look outside the open window that was on the north wall. The peach colored curtains swayed with the night breeze that was brewing.

With a gust of wind the peach curtains were blown open exposing the entire front yard, that was when Virginia saw something run across the lawn. She did not doubt that what she saw was not a fragment of the moonlight. She kept staring out the window even when the curtains settled back into place.

Susan was still talking when reality seemed to come back to her. Virginia put her hands up.

"I'm sorry, Girls, I'm gonna hafta go." She said as she stood up and started to head to the door.

"Alright…" came several voices in reply. "Bye!" all the girls shouted to her in unison as she went outside and closed the door behind her.

She slid down the stairs, not even bothering to skip the sixth step. She did not bother stopping when it let out a bone-rattling creak after her foot landed on it. She had to get outside before whatever she had seen disappeared. She ran into several people as she tried to get to the door as fast as she could. As soon as her fingertips hit the brass door handle she twisted it and wrenched the door open and exited into the Oklahoma night.


	2. Laurey's Dream

Yay second chapter! -does happy napkin dance- ... I found me and My friend, Sakura Ishimoto are going to be paralleling stories, -does another round of happy napkin dancing- so go read hers... once shes put it up, I even made sure everything was correct before she made hers final.  
Enjoy, Vas :3

* * *

**Chapter 2****Laurey's Dream**

---- _Two Weeks Earlier_ ---

Virginia stood on the side of the platform alone as she watched the groups and couples dance to a jaunty tune. She let the ghost of a smile cross her face as she watched the people dance, wishing that she could be out there too. Only that she was one of the less fortunate ones that was never asked to the box social, boys never really had much of a reason to look at her.

She moved over to one of the crates and seated herself on it, and then she pulled her knees put to her chest in a very unladylike fashion and rested her chin on them. None of them had even remotely come close to asking her for a dance, and she was not exactly the type that would ask a man first. Virginia waited with baited breath for anyone who would show her the slightest shred of interest, but alas her hopes were dashed. Even one of her closest friend, Mike Belford would have been a contender to ask her for a dance, but she had not seen him since the evening started.

Virginia sighed as she let the cool breeze that had started to pick up wash over her lithe figure. The red dress she was wearing was ruffled slightly by it. She wanted to see a friendly face right then, but a quick scan of the crowd brought her no answer, even though she was acquainted with everyone, she rarely made much conversation with most of them.

"Ginny!" She heard a voice to her left shouted.

Turing her head to see who called her she found Anna, her arm hooked with the farmer by the name of Slim. She came bounding over to Virginia dragging Slim behind her. She smiled at her friend who was seated on the crate.

"Why dun you get out there an' dance?" Anna asked her as she hugged Slim close to her body.

Virginia shook her head as she lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Naw, no'uns asked me yet," she said.

She felt Anna grab her arm and pull her up off the crate, up onto her feet. She hooked her free arm with her friends and hauled her after her; Slim was coming for the ride. He had a look on his face that clearly showed he did not want to be dragged around all night by Anna.

Anna pulled her behind her out into the center of the dance floor and in the middle of the crowds that danced joyfully. She spun Virginia around and shoved her into someone. That 'someone' she had hit turned around to look who had hit him or her, and Virginia saw for the first time that evening, Mike the cowboy.

"Wow," He said, "Virginia… you look stunnin'…"

Virginia smiled and looked away hoping that the traces of red that rushed to her face wouldn't be noticed by him. She suddenly felt very self-conscious about what she was wearing and about the red dress that she thought made her look much shorter than she actually was.

"Thank you…" she managed to squeak out.

The Music shifted to a much slower song. Virginia and Mike were still staring at each other. The cowboy moved his eyes and looked to the sky that hung overhead. He smiled as he brought his gaze back to the blonde woman in front of him.

"Wanna dance?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows.

Virginia nodded, as he came closer to her and put his arms around her waist. She slowly placed her hand in his and they started to dance together. Anna was obviously satisfied that her work here was done and disappeared with Slim into the crowd to go start her own dance with her date.

They continued dancing till the end of the song when they stopped and stood rooted to the platform. Slowly, but surely Mike and Virginia drew closer to each other. She was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. The two stood suspended in that moment for was seemed like an age.

"Ginny!" A female voice called to her.

She snapped back to reality and both her and Mike turned away from each other with lightning speed. Aggie, a tall but stocky redhead with blue green eyes, came runny up to her. She paused when she saw that Mike and her were with each other, than turned to Virginia.

"Ginny, Laurey's lookin' fur you…" She said with a smile as her eyes darted from Mike to Virginia. The blonde woman shook her head at Aggie.

"Please, Dun call me Ginny…" She begged.

Aggie shrugged

"Whutevuh you say," Aggie said.

The red head then grabbed Virginia by the upper arm and dragged her away from Mike, whose smile seemed to falter for a few moments as Virginia watched him mold back in with the crowd. Aggie wormed her way through the mass mob of people to the side of the platform where she saw Laurey accompanied by Armania and Kate.

"I found her, Laurey!" Aggie said as she dropped Virginia off at Laurey's feet.

Laurey smiled.

"Girls," she said "Could I talk to Virginia; Privately"

The Mood dropped as the three sulked away at the thought of them being rejected by their friend. Laurey and Virginia watched them go into the crowd as she made sure that none of them would try to sneak back and listen in.

"Ginny, I'm sorry I dragged you 'way" She apologized.

Virginia shrugged.

"Nuthin' was happenin' anyway…" Virginia lied.

Laurey smiled. She hooked arms with her friend and lead her to the stairs that led off the platform.

"Ginny, I have somethin' to tell you… I'm not sure your gonna like it, but it concerns you…" Laurey said nervously.

Virginia looked up to her with a weird expression.

"Continue," she hissed in Laurey's ear.

"Well, I bought that Elixir of Egypt from the peddler man, you know that." Laurey shifted her weight from foot to foot as she told her story.

"I used some of it tonight, and it really worked. I had a dream…" She stalled "This probably sounds really strange…"

Virginia shook her head.

"Naw, Laurey," The blonde woman took her friend's hands. "Jist go on…"

Laurey smiled nervously

"Well I had this dream, and Curly and I, we was together. We had come back from the social arm in arm. We had everything and soon the wedding was coming up. It arrived and I was walking down the aisle, white gown and all. I got to the end happy to find that Curly and I were finally gettin' married. But when I got to the end, I found myself staring into the eyes of Jud Fry…" She stalled as she bit her lip.

"Go on, please" Virginia coaxed

"He took me in his arms and suddenly I was in one of those saloon places. With all the fixin's. Including them dance-hall girls, they came and started drawing Jud in with 'em. If you know whut I'm getting' at. I was standing there and I looked to one of the dance hall girls… and… and…" She took a breath before she continued.

"It was you, the dance hall girl was you. You looked horrible, and was dressed in sich a depressin' color blue. I tried to get away but right before my eyes I saw you draw Curly in with you and…" Laruey's eyes darted about as she stumbled for the right words to communicate this to her friend.

"You were goin' at it with him. I tried to tear you away from him, but Jud blocked me from going on. Jud had this crazed look in his eye. Suddenly Curly came from nowhere at Jud with a knife, the two men fought. And Curly, he was… he was…" Laurey's eyes had started to tear up as she looked to her friend. Virginia placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He was killed by Jud, and the last thing I remember 'fore I woke was you cryin' by Curly's side."

Virginia looked into Laurey's eyes.

"Believe me, Laurey. It was only a dream…"

Laurey shook her head.

"It seemed so real…" she sobbed.

"Naw, I can tell you. From my experiences, dreams nevuh come true…" Virginia said solemnly.


	3. Pore Jud is Daid

Possibly the **Final Chapter**. I do not know if I should post the fourth one that I wrote, but it won't be a loss to the story if I don't post it. It makes me happy tht I actually _Finished_ a story _before_ the play finished... but this story isn't as elaborate as some of my other ones :D Back to the** Drawing Board** for my other stories.  
Much Love :3 Vas

**

* * *

Chapter 3**

**Pore Jud is Daid**

The Temperature difference from the inside of the house to the out was significant, but Virginia was not stopped by it. She was certain she had seen someone or something run across the lawn and take shelter in the sparse bushes that lined the property. She silently made her way toward the bushes, making sure that she did not make a sound so as not to scare away what ever she had seen.

Suddenly the bushes a few feet in front of her shifted slightly, there was no wind so something had to have moved it. Virginia froze as they shifted again. She started to step away slowly; this had been a bad idea. A groan issued from the bushes that made Virginia go rigid as her retreat stopped. A dark shadow staggered out from the bushes, she gasped in fright.

She and the shadow did not move for a long while. Time seemed to stand still as Virginia stared into the smudged and dirty face of the human being who stared right back at her. She suddenly unfroze as she recognized whom the person in front of her was.

"Jud…" she whispered

Jud tried to walk toward her but his footing was off as he stumbled over his own feet. Virginia bolted to his side and tried to support him, but it was a futile effort. Jud Fry was almost a foot and half taller than Virginia. His scruffy hair was a brown color and his eyes were brown and bloodshot.

"You're drunk, Jud." She stated the obvious.

He did not say anything in return. The blonde woman tried to lead him toward the smoke house where he lived, but was having her strength tested, as step by step he seemed to lean on her more and more. Jud suddenly seemed to realize what was happening to him as he attempted to stand up straight but was restricted by Virginia's arms.

"Lemme go, Woman…" his voice wavered from the effects of the alcohol.

"You'll be thankin' me later." Virginia said as she saw the smoke house come into view.

A sudden racket split the night as the sound of banging pans and pots echoing their metallic clang met Virginia's ears. Jud managed to wriggle free of Virginia's arms. He stood up, unwavering, on the spot as his drooping eyes looked back toward the house. Virginia let him go and turned to follow where he was looking.

"It's nuthin'." She said, "They's probably giving Laurey an' Curly a shivoree."

Jud's eyes suddenly filled with anger that had never been seen by Virginia. He started to walk with an uncharacteristic straightness, not normal for an intoxicated person. He walked back toward the house. Virginia's eyes grew wide with horror as his intentions became clear to her in one painful moment. She ran inhumanly fast and cut him off in his advance.

"Jud don't," she pleaded "Please, I know whut your gonna do…"

Jud just gave her a long hard stare that made her shrink away. He raised a massive hand and pushed her roughly out of his way.

"Jud!" She called.

The giant man did not stop.

"Oh Lordy!" she swore to herself as she ran up beside him and cut him off once again. She could see that his face was turning red with anger and frustration, some of it probably caused by her always stopping him in his quest for revenge.

"It won' do you no good." She tried to reason with him. "It's no use. You hafta give 'er up. There are other womern out there who'd love to have ya…"

She did not realize the mistakes of her words as she spoke to the huge man. He growled at her and pushed her aside once again, this time rougher than the last time that he done it a few moments earlier.

"For God's sake, Jud…" She shouted at his back

Tears started to stream down Virginia's eyes as she realized that Curly's life could be at stake. She ran up beside Jud for one final time.

"Stop!" She screamed in despair as she grabbed his hand to stop him from continuing. The next thing that happened came so fast she never even saw his body move to prepare for it. Like a sledgehammer, Jud swung his ham and struck Virginia upside the face. She flew back and rammed her head into the ground. The shock of his action scared her so much that she did not feel the pain, nor did she realize that she had bit her tongue so hard that it was bleeding openly.

Her blue eyes, still wide with shock, stared straight ahead as she blinked blood from her eyes. Jud did not move, she doubted that he even realized what he had done to her until it was to late. The silence that followed was deafening. Jud shook him self free of the suspension first. With his hand raised dangerously in Virginia's direction, he pointed a finger at her.

"Nevuh, evuh tell me whut to do again," he hissed at her, after that with a grunt he continued on his way.

Virginia's mind slowly came to grasp what had just happened to her. With a shriek of pain she put her hand to her mouth as she wiped the red substance away with her hand. She felt the pain, yet no tears of suffering came to her eyes. Slowly she turned her head to look in the direction that Jud had gone.

She breathed hard as the harsh reality came crashing down upon her. Virginia had failed in stopping him, if anything happened to Curly or Laurey it would be her fault.

"Oh God, Whut have I done?" She asked in a hush tone to herself.

She spat out blood, clearing her mouth of the substance before she pushed herself to her feet. Virginia was going to stop Jud, or find someway to warn Curly. She tried to run but stop abruptly when white-hot pain shot across her eyes, she gasped as her hand flew to her forehead. That blow to her head had probably done more than was visible, but she had no time to think of it now. It was either her head or Curly's life and of the two she chose the latter.

Walking as fast as she could without causing herself a headache, she hobbled in the direction of the hay field where she had heard the racket come from. As Virginia drew closer she could hear the shouts of the men and every so often a metallic clang would echo across the field and rattle her head.

As she drew closer she heard the surrounding field go quiet, deathly quiet. She knew what this was from; Jud had obviously been spotted by one of the men. She came around one last stack of golden hay to find the men standing in a half moon shape. Jud stood opposite the group, with every step he took the men took one back. Laurey and Curly were situated on top of one of the haystacks; Laurey clung tightly to Curly's arms.

"We thought you'd left Jud," one of the men shouted.

"Naw," Jud jeered at the group as he backed them farther away from Laurey and Curly. "I wouldn' want to miss the celebratin'"

With an insane smile he drew something from his pocket. Virginia tried to see what it was but couldn't as she took shelter behind one of the haystacks so as not to be seen by the men.

Jud's hand lashed out in front of him and grabbed one of the torches from a man standing in the front. With a closer look, Virginia saw that it was Mike; only he did not give up the torch so easily. He held on. Jud, noticing his resistance, turned around and gave Mike a long hard stare. He wrenched the torch from Mike's scrawny hand; he then grabbed Mike by the neck of his shirt and lifted him clean off his feet. Mike started gasping for breath.

"You got sumpin' to say?" Jud breathed in Mike's face.

Mike shook his head vigorously; Jud dropped him. When he hit the ground, Mike's legs crumpled beneath him causing him to fall flat on his back. All the men were frozen where they stood, it was obvious they had no idea what to do to Jud for fear of ending up worse off then Mike. They knew that something had to be done. With a glance in Virginia's direction, Jud turned to face the haystack that the newly wedded couple stood on. Jud came up beside the haystack, he held the torch up to Curly.

"Happy Weddin'" he said with that he drove the torch deep into the haystack.

It instantly caught on fire. Laurey shrieked in fear as the yellow flames started clawing up the side. They were trapped. The men on the ground shouted as they came forward ready to fight Jud. They would have, had Jud not taken out the switchblade and brandished it in front of him. The advance of the men stopped quickly, but Mr. Cord Elam, a tall red head, didn't stop fast enough. He managed to jump away, but only after Jud and his knife stuck him in the shoulder.

"LAUREY! JUMP!" Curly's voice came,

He was coughing as the smoke from the fire started to take effect on his lungs. He threw Laurey from the haystack. She tumbled to the ground, and from what Virginia could see was fine. She stood up almost as soon as her frail body hit the ground.

"CURLY!" She screamed as the fire engulfed the haystack.

She sank to the ground as tears came to her face. Virginia stared in shock at the haystack; she then let her eyes drop in reverence for Curly. Suddenly she saw something jump from the haystack, it was the cowboy. He hit the ground hard, but he jumped to his feet unfazed. He clothes were burned and he was covered in black soot, but other than that he was unharmed by the fire. As soon Jud saw him, he let out a shout of rage and charged at him.

Curly saw Jud coming at him with the silver switchblade, with glowed eerily in the fire's light. The cowboy jumped out of the way at the last moment and Virginia watched as his fist struck Jud on the back of the head. Jud turned around; his eyes were blazing with rage. The other men around the two adversaries were helpless. Laurey screamed and fled into the dark night.

Jud lunged at Curly, the cowboy jumped aside but only after his foot caught on Jud's causing both men to tumble away from each other. Curly was on his feet once again, but Jud did not move. There was a long stillness that followed, slowly Curly and the men came forward. The figure sprawled on the ground did not stir; Curly knelt down beside him and turned him over on his side slowly.

The worst had happened; when Jud had fallen over he had run himself through with his own knife. Curly backed away slowly, shaken from what had just happened. The men gathered around, they talked in hushed voices that Virginia could not decipher from her position behind the haystack.

The men then broke up into two groups and split directions. Leaving Jud and Curley alone. Curley just stared at the form lying, unmoving on the ground.

"He's daid!" he shouted into the clear night.

Virginia upon hearing this jumped up. She watched Curly go running off; clearly he was going to find his bride who was probably as shaken as he was. The only thing that moved in the area was the dying ember of fire as they ate up the last of the hay. She bolted from her position behind the haystack; all pain seemed to have vanished. She ran to Jud's side and fell on the ground next to him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the knife stuck in his abdomen.

"My God, Jud. I tol' you to stop…" Virginia cried out into the starry blackness of the night. Her eyes were turning red from the tears that brimmed within them.

"if'n you wanted a womern to take with you… you only had to ask…" her voice quivered with emotion. "She was ready to follow you anywhere…"

Virginia laid her golden head on his unmoving chest. She put her hand over his eyes and closed them for they had been open and staring, unseeing, into the dark sky. She rested in this position for several minutes, and then raising her eyes to look at his face she managed a weak laugh.

"You remember that day, so long ago…" She did not expect an answer. "I had jist come to Oklahoma, and I had come to the school for the first time." She shifted her weight. "You was making fun of me and my family, and then I punched you…" she laughed silently to herself. "Those were the first things you ever said to me."

She shook her head as she looked to the tip of the knife that protruded from his middle. "I remember the day you told me your secret." Virginia turned back to look at his face. "You were in love with the Barlett's daughter, and she was pretty close to you too." She paused. "You found 'er foolin' 'round in the hayloft with another man." A few tears from the endless river fell onto Jud, "An' then you burned the place,"

She turned her head and pulled herself up toward his face. Her eyes were completely red by now, making her eyes glow an eerie icy shade of blue as she wept over Jud's body.

"I kept your secret for years…" She said into his face.

She rested her chin on his "Now you keep mine…"

With that her lips locked with his, in one final good bye. She let all her emotions and true feelings for the dead man come out in one final master gesture. The truth was that the kiss Jud received from Virginia was probably the closet thing to love returned he ever got in his life

She didn't say any more as she put her head back down onto his chest and lay unmoving. She didn't even stir when something was placed on her shoulder, but then her sorrow had turned into muted gasps for breath. Virginia felt a presence drop down beside her. She moved her head to lookup and see who it was. Mike had come to rest next to her, signifying that half of the group of men had returned. She did not bother to wipe her eyes free of the tears; Mike wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the ground.

She rested her head on Mike's front as he held her close to him, trying to comfort her. Several other men had caught snippets of her actions but they said nothing as they watched her cry over the fallen body of Jud Fry.

"Shh…" Mike crooned, "It'll be alright"

Virginia let a sigh escape her lips. She then let Mike lead her back to the house, away from the scene that had changed the farm girl's life forever.


	4. The Song into Silence

**_O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a_** Oklahoma opened yesterday (3/31/06) to a **sold out **audience and Itmakes me happy that we did sell out.No one made a mistake and It makes the experience even better.  
I would like to thank all the people eho put so much effort into our production especially Nathaniel who plays Jud,Laura who plays Laurey, Stephanie who plays Gertie, Brittainy who plays Aunt Eller, Randy who plays Will, Marina who plays Ado Annie, James who plays Curly, Matt who plays Ike Skidmore, Kevin who plays Andrew Carnes and Nick who plays Ali Hakim. Since it is Laura's, Randy's, Stephanie's, Nathaniel's, Emily's, and Kelsey's **last** playI would like to dedicate this story to them.

Back to the _story_ this is the final chapter... kinda dumb in my opinion... but due to **excesive pleas** from my friend they think I should attach my **_alternate ending_** to this... maybe I will just to make them happy...

**

* * *

Chapter 4**

**The Song into Silence**

Virginia had managed to climb the great tree outside Laurey's window and had perched herself on the branch with her feet hanging below her. If anyone passed below they would get a view of her pink calico patterned bloomers, but she did not care. No one would be coming around today.

It had been three days since Jud's death and she had refused to eat and had barely gotten any sleep, it was beginning to take its toll on her. She could not get the feeling that what had happened was her fault. Since that day Jud passed away, Mike had refused to leave her side. She had managed to slip away from him and found her way out here. She looked out across the field that was painted golden by the rays of the glowing white sun that hung overhead.

The soft sound of muted jingles met her ears, which could only mean one thing: The Peddler Man was coming around. Virginia looked over in the direction of the dusty road to catch sight of the beautiful chestnut horse pulling a blue and red colored cart behind it. The woman in the tree slipped down to the ground and broke into a run toward the dirt road.

She finally broke through the golden grass and jumped in front of the slow moving cart. The horse stopped automatically, as the cart following it halted also. The dark man sitting in the seat, dressed in his usual pinstriped suit and straw hat, looked from under the brim of his hat to see who it was.

"Oh, Hello Miss Virginia." He said as he tipped his hat in her direction

"I thought you was runnin' the store down in Bushyhead?" Virginia asked with her hands on her hips. She must have looked very odd to him with the dark circles under her eyes and her slightly disheveled hair.

"You know me. A Peddler man, always on the move…"

Virginia gave him a long stare.

"I'm just getting rid of the items in the back." He gestured over his shoulder.

Virginia looked him over. "D'ya mind if I look?" she asked.

"Not at all, Miss Virginia." He slid off the driver's seat and scurried around back. In a few moments he had everything set up as he always did when he sold to a crowd of people or as many people who would mind looking. Virginia came around to see what he had. Everything imaginable was back there in the carriage, but the one thing that caught Virginia's eye was a gold pendant with a blue stone attached to it. Whichever way she turned her head the stone seemed to change color with her angle.

"Wus 'at?" she asked as she pointed to the gold pendant the hung lazily on a small metal hook.

"That?" The Peddler man took it off the hook. "This was made in Egypt. It was supposed to protect a person as they made the long journey to the afterlife."

Virginia tilted her head as she examined the stone once again.

"That's very interestin' Mr. Hakim."

She turned her blue eyes to him.

"How much will this cost me?" she asked.

Ali Hakim thought about it for a few moments. Than with a nod of his dark head and deep bow to her he said. "Six bits"

Instantly that amount of money appeared in his hand and Virginia held the golden amulet tightly in her ivory fingers. Virginia curtsied to the peddler man to show her gratitude.

"Thank you." She said to him "Where are you going next?"

Ali Hakim was climbing back into the driver's seat of the horse-drawn carriage. When he was posed this question. He looked back at her and shrugged.

"Dunno, perhaps back to Bushyhead. Business has not been good." He grabbed the reins for the horses. "But first I want to stop and see old Eller. Let me give you a ride to the house." He offered her his hand to help her up into the carriage.

Virginia shook her head.

"I'm quite capable of walkin'"

Ali Hakim pulled his hand back and shrugged once again.

"Alright then…"

With that he slapped the reins and the horse drew the cart away toward the house. Virginia watched it go down the road and turn sharply in front of the little white house with blue trimmings. She sighed as a surreal feeling came about her. Jud's funeral would be in a few hours and she had to get ready, in the back of her mind a shadow of doubt grew that no one would come.

**------**

The small, rickety, wooden surrey came to a halt in front of the old church. Aunt Eller slowly got out of the left side of the surrey and went to tie the horses to the post that was situated outside the church. The church itself was built of wood that had been originally painted white, but years of weather had peeled the paint away and exposed the gray wood underneath. The building leaned at an angle and looked as though if a strong wind hit the steeple at the right angle it would tumble over.

Virginia slowly got out of the surrey; the faded black dress that she wore swirled around her ankles. She pushed a stray strand of golden hair that had gotten free of the green bow she wore behind her ear. She felt Aunt Eller come up next her. The dumpy woman took her arm and started to lead her toward the door of the church.

"C'mon… We'd better get inside." She said.

Virginia let her lead her to the door, but before Virginia crossed over the threshold she stopped hesitant to go in for fear of what she might see. Eventually she followed Eller in who had politely waited at the door for her.

The church was all but empty except for four people. Two of them she did not know, but she was not interested in finding out that they were. The other two she recognized off the bat as Anna and Susan. Both were dressed in black and had their heads bowed.

Virginia stopped walking down the aisle when she saw the coffin lying open in front of the alter waiting for people to pay their respects. She felt something tug at the corner of her eyes as her mouth started quivering. She looked to Aunt Eller, the old woman bowed her head and took a seat in one of the aisle motioning for Virginia to go up and pay her respects.

She drew a breath and held it to try and stop herself from crying she walked almost mechanically the rest of the way, pausing next to the aisle her friends were in. Both of them looked up. Susan's once friendly eyes were dark and Anna's smile had gone away and was replaced by a thin frown. Both of them looked at Her; they bowed their heads and then looked away from her, avoiding her eyes.

Virginia finally let the tears fall from her blue eyes. She came up beside the coffin. The brown coffin was not elaborately decorated, yet had a simple beauty about it, which echoed its inhabitant. Virginia lifted her eyes just enough to catch a quick glance of Jud before she tore her eyes away unable to look at him as the salty tears clouded her vision.

It took her a few moments to build up enough courage to bring her eyes back around to look at Jud who was lying in the coffin. She tilted her head when she looked at him. He was lying out and his hands were folded across his chest. He was dressed in a clean white shirt with light brown pants that were help up with black suspenders. His tawny hair was combed back.

"Well, once 'gain, I'm cryin' by your side." A weak smile crossed her face as she tilted her head in another direction.

"I'm sorry Jud…" She placed her hand gently on his cold fingers.

"I wasn' fast enough…" She drew her hand back and drew something from her sleeve. She held the golden amulet in her hand and let the feeble rays of light that shifted through the frosted glass of the church glint off the gold inlay around the stone.

She put the amulet in the pocket of the white shirt that Jud wore.

"I'm so sorry…" Virginia turned away and with tears falling freely form her eyes started to walk back to the pew where Aunt Eller was.


End file.
